In various situations it may become desirable to raise an established building off of its foundations, for example to repair or replace those foundations or to relocate the building. Common practice is to elevate the building using jacking mechanisms and position increasing stacks of supporting blocks under strategically determined points on the building underside. It is also known to use beams to support the building as it is being lifted off of its foundations, and the beams are commonly raised by means of jacks, with supporting blocks being positioned under the beams as they are elevated to increased heights in an attempt to prevent a long fall should one or more of the jacks fail.
However, it has been found that traditional building lifting methods are time-consuming and require significant personnel to operate. In addition, the physical stability of the traditional systems may be inadequate and introduce unnecessary danger and risk of injury for those on site, particularly as heights increase. Various improvements have been proposed in the art, such as that presented in Canadian Patent Application No. 2,618,521 to the inventor of the present invention, wherein a support frame or yolk for the lifting beam is moved up and down a vertical guide structure using jacks, and stops can be provided as the yolk moves upwardly to prevent the risk of damage and injury from a long drop if the jack fails. However, it has been determined that a need for further improvement is desired.